Creating new words in Algilez

Advice for vocabulary additions and modifications

1
Basis for the Algilez vocabulary

The Algilez vocabulary is intended to be a comprehensive word
list based upon short, simple root words which can then be
joined to form compound words, which will make up the majority
of the vocabulary.

Root words are generally derived from the core syllable of the
corresponding English language word. They are usually (but not always) the abstract noun
equivalent of the English word, and can be modified by various
affixes to turn them into tangible nouns, verbs, adjectives etc.

2
Definition of 'Compound Words' used in Algilez

For these notes ‘Compound Words’ in Algilez are defined as any
words which are formed from two or more roots with different
semantic meanings. This excludes cases where affixes are added to single root words
(e.g. for tenses, adjectives/adverbs, plurals, tangible nouns
etc), since this only results in a grammatical change to the
word, not to the semantic meaning. When two or more root words of different semantic
meanings are joined, the result is a new word with a new meaning
(which can then be modified by the normal affixes).

Examples:-

110a

duration, period, while

dur

root

160d

electricity

lek

root

185a

place, site, point

as

root

632b

storage

stør

root

632bb

preserve, preserving (food etc)

durstør

compound

632bc

battery

lekstør

compound

632a

store (place)

støras

compound

Words such as xip støra (storage ship) or
me støroz buki
(I stored the books) are just grammatical variations of the
root word stør and not Algilez compound words.

3
Creation of new Algilez root words

Although a large number of key root words already exist,
particularly for day to day grammatical usage, the vocabulary is
still being developed and there will still be the need to create
new root words. As more people become involved in the development of Algilez, I thought
that it would be helpful to provide some guidance for new root word creation:-

When to create a new root word

a. Create
a new root word if a meaning is considered to be unique (i.e.
not a variation of an existing root such as an opposite etc) and
well used.Examples:

i.
218c, seat, sit:218f, chair, cer
– here the
word ‘cer’ is considered to be
sufficiently well used to merit its own root word as opposed to
a compound word (such as room-seat – rumsit,
for example).

ii.
Similarly, 589g, library, leb.‘Library’ could be expressed by a compound word such as
bukstørøk
(from 589a, book,
buk
and 632c, collection,
størøk) but library was considered a
sufficiently well used word to merit its own root word.Note that bukstørøk
could
still be used as an alternative word for library (with the same
meaning) and perhaps might also be used as an Algilez dictionary
definition.

iii.
001b, reality, ril:002d, unreality zaril
– here
it was not considered necessary to create a new root word for
‘unreality’ but instead to use a ‘negating’ compound word (as in
English), where ‘za’ means ‘none’.Words such as ‘op’ (opposite)
and ‘un’ (undo, reverse of) could
also be used where appropriate.

b.
Create a new root word if the word is likely to be a well used
one and could only otherwise be created from a long compound
word (e.g. composed of more than two roots).

c.
Aim for a single syllable, consonant–vowel–consonant root
word if possible (however the remaining number of these are
limited).

d.
If the meaning is already expressed by a word that is well used
and understood internationally, then it may be appropriate to
create a root word, based on that word, even if it is more than
two or three syllables.

E.g.
319daoxygenoksijen

4
Creation of new Algilez compound words

The intention is that the new Algilez compound word should
clearly represent the desired meaning.In many cases this may mean creating a new compound word
that is quite different to the present English one used.

Example:
Passport

This is a two-part English word, in common use and well
understood.However
the word itself was probably created several hundred years ago
and would have been used to describe a letter of permission
allowing an English traveller to cross by sea into France.
Nowadays the two parts
of the word do not accurately describe the function of a
passport and it would be confusing to just apply a literal
translation from English to Algilez, i.e. pass-port =
pãs-jas.

We really need to think about what exactly the function of the
document is and then find the best words to describe it.
A dictionary definition
gives 'passport:- official document for use by a person
travelling abroad.' E.g.
a passport is a travel document, a means of identification, a
permit to enter countries etc. However,
we do not want to produce an unnecessarily complicated,
multi-syllable word. Some
of the choices available are words such as:-

059b

foreign country

bosnax

265d

journey

go

494b

authenticity, genuineness

truøk

547b

identification, naming, point out

den

548a

document, record, documentation

rek

733a

authority

fur

756a

let, permission, allowing, allow, may

le

756c

permit, licence

lepap

Some of the above words are already two-part compound words.
In the end, the choice
was made to use 'goden'
which combined the meaning of 'Journey' and 'Identity' and
seemed most appropriate to the present use of the word
'Passport'.Was it
the best choice?If
you can think of something more appropriate then let us know.

A similar approach is needed for all other compound words, to
ensure that the new meaning is as logical as possible.The reader or listener of the new word should be able to
work out the meaning of the word even if they have never heard
it before.

5
Modification to existing root & compound words

What do we mean by 'words' and 'meanings'

It is probably easiest to think of a 'meaning' as something that
you know in your own language. Let us take 'thought'
as an example. The Algilez word that we could use for this
might be 'fort', 'føt', 'fot'
etc. Suppose we wanted to use 'fort'
but found that it was already being used (for a castle, say).
Hence we have a meaning, 'thought', a choice of words,
fort', 'føt',
'fot' etc, one of which is already being used for a
different meaning 'castle'.

If we decide that we want to use the word fort' for
the meaning: thought, then we have to find another word for the meaning: castle.

Hence, in some cases the desired root or compound word may already be
in use.
In that
case the judgement must be made as to whether a another new word
should be chosen or whether the existing word should be used.
In that case, a word must then be found to replace the existing one,
i.e. we would have to find another Algilez word to represent
'castle'.

During the early days of Algilez development, this happened
frequently. As development continues, the scope to
make major changes like that decreases but may still be
necessary from time to time.

Here are some suggested procedures to be followed:-

The main problem is to be aware of the ‘Domino Effect’, where the
taking of an existing root
word from one meaning, results in it having to be replaced by
taking another root word from yet another meaning and so on.

a.
If someone finds that there is not a corresponding Algilez word
for a word in their natural language, and that the most
appropriate Algilez word has already been used (i.e. the desired root word
is already being used for another Algilez meaning)
then it is possible to change it, to free the desired root word
(where the new meaning is considered more appropriate for that
root word).However
the existing meaning must then be found a replacement root word.

b.
There are obviously only a limited number of single syllable,
consonant–vowel–consonant root words possible.Once those are used then the root words start to become
more complicated and possibly multi-syllable.It is important that root words are not wasted on the
lesser used meanings where a compound word would be perfectly
acceptable.

Similarly, the most frequently used
meanings should be allocated the simplest and most compact root
words.

c.If the desired compound word is already in use then
it can only be used if the new meaning is considered more
appropriate for that word and if a replacement compound word can
be found for the previously used meaning.